Hollywood's problem with diversity from Tim Burton to Tilda Swinton and Matt Damon

Lambasted: Tim Burton is the latest Hollywood star to come under fire Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for FIJI Water

Tim Burton is the latest director to find himself at the centre of the Hollywood diversity debate.

Burton, 58, was questioned about the lack of Asian or black actors in his films, including his latest project Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, and admitted he would be more offended if black or Asian actors were cast as a result of political correctness.

When asked why his films feature predominantly white casts he told Bustle: "Nowadays, people are talking about it more. Things either call for things, or they don’t. I remember back when I was a child watching The Brady Bunch and they started to get all politically correct.

"Like, OK, let’s have an Asian child and a black. I used to get more offended by that than just … I grew up watching blaxploitation movies, right? And I said, that’s great.

Samuel L Jackson – who plays Barron in Burton’s new film – defended the director and said who he casts is not a fault of Burton’s.

Jackson said: "I had to go back in my head and go, 'How many Black characters have been in Tim Burton movies?' And I may have been the first, I don't know, or the most prominent in that particular way, but it happens the way it happens.

"I don't think it's any fault of his or his method of storytelling. It's just how it's played out. Tim's a really great guy."

The following films also sparked the debate in recent months:

The Great Wall: Matt Damon

The Great Wall trailer

Film bosses behind Matt Damon’s latest film, The Great Wall, were accused of whitewashing Chinese history after Damon was cast as a soldier who defends the iconic landmark from mysterious monsters.

Following the trailer release, people mocked the casting, branded the film a “joke” and questioned why an Asian actor could not have been cast.

Taiwanese-American actress Constance Wu was among the critics and accused Hollywood of “perpetuating the racist myth that only a white man can save the world”.

Dr Strange: Tilda Swinton

Doctor Strange - Trailer

The decision to cast Tilda Swinton as a Tibetan sorcerer from a fictional village in the Himmalays proved controversial as moviegoers criticised film bosses for casting the white, British actress in a role that was originally written as an elderly Asian man.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige attempted to defend the decision and said the latest incarnation of the character would be different from that in the comic book - but fans weren't convinced.

Swinton said of the whitewashing accusations: “The script that I was presented with did not feature an Asian man for me to play, so that was never a question when I was being asked to do it. It all will be revealed when you see the film, I think. There are very great reasons for us to feel very settled and confident with the decisions that were made.”

Aloha: Emma Stone

Aloha film trailer

Emma Stone's casting as Allison Ng, a character of Hawaiian and Asian heritage, in Cameron Crowe’s romantic comedy Aloha kicked off the Hollywood whitewashing debate in 2015.

Crowe released a "heart-felt apology to all who felt this was an odd or misguided casting choice" but defended his decision to recruit Stone because she was based on a real life woman whose heritage was not immediately apparent.

Stone mimicked Crowe's defense and said: “The character was not supposed to look like her background which was a quarter Hawaiian and a quarter Chinese.”

Ghost in the Shell: Scarlett Johansson

Ghost in the Shell film trailer

Fans of the Japanese manga series Ghost In The Shell were angered after Scarlett Johansson was cast in an Asian role. The decision was lambasted on Twitter when the first image of Johansson as cyborg policewoman Major Kusanagi was released.

Ming-Na Wen, who plays Melinda May in superhero TV show Agents of SHIELD was among the critics and tweeted: “Nothing against Scarlett Johansson. In fact, I’m a big fan. But everything against this whitewashing of Asian role.”

Some 103,000 signed a petition calling for the role to be re-cast.

Mulan

The 1998 Disney classic is getting the live action remake treatment, and despite no confirmation of cast a petition has already been set up to end the “disturbing trend of whitewashing in big-budget movies”. It has amassed nearly 104,000 signatures.

According to Variety, the film will be shot in China with a Chinese partner and a mostly Chinese cast.